Best Edge Retention Steel

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XxDrAg0nxX

Joined
Feb 26, 2006
Messages
118
Hi,

I currently own a SOG Mini X-ray vision on a ATS-34 steel.

I find myself sharpening it too often... even after cutting paper it slowly feels virtually less sharp after a while... it it because of the steel type?

Thinking of a Sere 2000 as my next knife... because of the low carry clip (most impt factor for me) and I heard it is a good piece... any opinions?
 
Paper can be abrasive, but no so abrasive that good ATS-34 should feel less sharp after just a few cuts. When that happens, it's usually the owner's problem ... often, it means you left a wire edge on after sharpening, and the wire edge is stripping off or turning. If I were you, I wouldn't go chasing steels until you figure out why your SOG is losing its edge so quickly. ATS-34 is a very solid steel for an EDC folder that's not put through extraordinarily hard use.
 
I know of the same problem with the SOG Vision Titanium.
The duration of it's sharpness is nowhere near that of ATS34 from Spyderco.
I've sharpened several of these beauty's, as i really like the design, myself and the problem stays, even after convexing, and also no wire edges.
Maybe lack of a quality heat treating ?
 
Titanium is not known for taking or holding the best edge. It is a relatively soft metal with very specific such as corrosion resistance and non-magnetic properties.
 
The titanium vision is not a titanium blade. All it is is the vision with titanium handles and an ATS-34 blade.
 
Yeah, I agree with above. Sounds like a combination of a poor heat treat as well as a not so good job of sharpening. The ATS-34 blades I have hold a very good edge.
As to which steel is the best "edge holding", this discussion could go on for months with everybody making good points for their favorite.

FWIW, Fallkniven makes a small folder called a U2 and the steel is "laminated super gold powder stainless" and the edge of this little knife is hardened to 64 HRc which is very hard and it keeps it's edge for a very long time.

Ciao
Ron Cassel
:eek:
 
Can you have a steel blade,like ATS34) be heat treated again if you suspect inadequate heat treating before? They can be treated close to RC60 if I'm not mistaken.
 
Dannyvi;
Yeah, it could be done but you would have to have the handle removed, the blade annealed, the steel brought back to hard and quenched, polished, heated again to the temp. to achieve the Rc hardness you want, polished again, tested for Rc, and then put another edge on it.
By the time you do or have this done it would probably would be cheaper to buy another knife with a good reputation for edge holding like a Chris Reeve or other well know knife maker. Personnaly I have had some inconsistant results with some of the SOG knives I have had.

Good luck and Ciao
Ron
:rolleyes:
 
There is a difference in say an ATS34 blade with the Paul Bos heat treatment over another. I've had several from other manufacturers that didn't keep up with my Buck ATS34 blades. This isn't to mean the others are faulty or weak knives.

A couple of things I've noticed about both ATS34 and 154CM is that they seem to take a very fine edge that is so fine it doesn't bite or grab your finger when you drag it on the edge like an S30V or VG10 blade will. In other words these blades of ATS34 or 154CM tend to fool you if you test sharpeness with your fingers because they seem dull with no bite. Chances are the blade is sharper than you may think it is. I typically don't see much of a wire edge on either ATS34 or 154CM blades. Neither of these steels seem to be as prone to forming a big burr like others I use. Even still both give me fits to get the kind of edge I like on them.

There can be more at play here than heat treatment. It could be that the bevel angle is too steep to be strong. Or maybe you should try for a more aggressive toothier edge next sharpening on the blade and see if that satisfies you better over a fine edge one for the kind of slicing you are doing with it.

STR
 
2 things:

1. I bought a SOG PE and just wasn't happy with the edge out of the box. I worked on it with a Sharpmaker and with stones and just couldn't get the edge I'm used to. So I boxed it up and sent it to SOG in Lynwood with a little note. In just about a week, I got it back with a GREAT, super sharp edge (on the serrations and tip too). So I give SOG a lot of credit for taking care of that, especially so quickly. (Of course there was no charge.) Since then, it sharpens much more easily.

2. I think the ATS-34 on the X Ray Vision is very good steel, but not quite as good as other ATS-34 (e.g. Buck, & Benchmade - used before switching to 154CM).
 
The longest edge holding I have ever experienced was with a Spy Military in 440V. That thing held an edge longer than any other knife I have ever used. Of course when it did blunt it took me half an hour to get the edge back shaving sharp.
 
Im so happy to hear this... so im not imagining things that I am losing edge faster than normal... LOL

Any input on the retention of the AL Mar SERE 2000?
 
XxDrAg0nxX said:
Thinking of a Sere 2000. any opinions?
Click to expand...

The SERE 2000 is an excellent piece of kit. It's one of my favourite EDCs.

VG10 is a top-notch steel which will outperform many others on the market.

Ergonomics are superior.

The clip attachment means that it "hides" better in a pocket than any other clipped folder I own.

The knife is robust, and just looks purposeful.

Highly recommended.

maximus otter
 
I'd also go for D2. Check out Benchmade, they are offering the 710 in D2 now. You just can't beat it!
 
The 710 looks good, but I really need the clip to be low profile like that of the SOG mini Vision and the AL Mar Sere 2000..

My considerations for a knife would be in this order:
1- Low Profile Clip
2- Good Edge Retention
3- Arc lock if possible (not so impt) could settle for linear

The Mini Vision was the perfect knife until I realised that it loses its edge rather fast..
VERY disappointing. WHY SOG WHY???
 
I hope this is not getting the thread off track but I must say 2 things in regard to what the brother said about his ATS-34 getting dull easy. I do think that what the one brother said about the possibility of a lousy heat-treat is probably the truth. I had a Benchmade Boguszewski Spike back in the late 90s. It was the same thing as the brother described. You could look at that knife and it would go dull on you. Well by a strange set of circumstances I ended up losing that knife.

About a year later I got another of the exact same model at a gun show because I was so crazy about the design. It is a completely different blade and holds an edge incredibly well. I must have simply had one out of a bad batch or something. But now I have discovered what I think is the best blade steel on any factory made knife I ever had. For the last 6 months I have been carrrying a Spyderco Burgundy Calypso Jr. with ZDP-189 blade steel. I use that knife like crazy and it just doesn't get dull very often. But when it is ready to be fine tuned I just take a Spyderco 204UF ultra fine stone and use it like a STEEL and that knife is sharper than a witches tongue within a couple of minutes.

I have not come across any blade steel that is as good as this ZDP-189 is. I plan on getting every knife that Spyderco makes with this most astounding blade steel.
 
ZDP189... Thats one rare steel... it has 3.00 Carbon! thats 3x more carbon than most steels and 20 chromium... and totally nothing else...WTH?

I cant find any write ups on it just like I cant seem to find a HRC rating on VG-10...

Know anywhere i can find the data?

TIA
 
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